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This spell of fine weather got me playing through my earth wind and fire albums, highlights, so far, for me are 'cant hide your love' and 'evil', 'Zanzibar' just wondered if there any other fans on here? what are your personal favorite tracks/ albums.  

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  • Bazm
    Bazm

    An original black music supergroup. So versatile, sweet soul with 'That's the way of the world' and 'Reasons' through to powerhouse driving funk of 'Africano', so many great tracks over the years. Cur

  • Dave Thorley
    Dave Thorley

      Jewel being one, but in their case, not so pale...............   https://youtu.be/nVqVS5_eZXY

  • Agentsmith
    Agentsmith

    awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday e

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An original black music supergroup. So versatile, sweet soul with 'That's the way of the world' and 'Reasons' through to powerhouse driving funk of 'Africano', so many great tracks over the years. Currently (re) enjoying Happy Feeling.

Album track which was, I think, called Shining Star. Also, always loved the classic After The Love Has Gone. Fantastic band.

A talented band and That's The Way Of The World was a great LP which I haven't heard for years. 'All About Love' was a nice ballad on that album.

 

But for me it all started to go downhill after producer Charles Stepney died and Maurice White was left to his own devices.

 

In fact it was during that period that I became a manic depressive and my therapist said it might have been caused by too much exposure to 'Boogie Wonderland'.

 

Oh no I've got that song in my head again now.

 

:dash2:

awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday evening it was, you didnt have to have tickets in those days...totally gobsmacked by their presence...levitation, exploding pyramids...magical as was the music...i couldn't believe it.......so i went back on the friday night to experience it all over again! :rofl: first track i ever remember being played out was "happy feeling"...they sure gave that...

  On 05/07/2013 at 06:25, AGENTSMITH said:

awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday evening it was, you didnt have to have tickets in those days...totally gobsmacked by their presence...levitation, exploding pyramids...magical as was the music...i couldn't believe it.......so i went back on the friday night to experience it all over again! :rofl: first track i ever remember being played out was "happy feeling"...they sure gave that...

I went to Bingley Hall that night , what a night!! Lost a mate of mine who was pissed and eventually saw him up in the gods with one of the Lighting Technicians .

Mind blowing band and fantastic stage act as you say. :yes:

 

 

Swifty :thumbsup:

I was also at Bingley hall with a heavily pregnant wife ,Alan and Judi Pollard exploding pyramids levitating bass player just spectacular . probbably one of the greatest live shows ever . one of my all time favorite bands , they had it all

Major disappointment in that I never got to see them perform live. Heard nothing but spectacular about their live shows. So many good tracks to choose from. Still love Happy Feeling and Septempber.

One of the very best soul groups of the 70's. I loved (& bought) every track that put out back then.

As already stated, their live shows were spectacular events.

Here's a (later) clip that features 3 of their best outings (you can ignore the first 45 seconds of it) ......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfagqCcyE6g

 

THEN OF COURSE, there was also Frankie Beverly & Maze to catch live during that era !!!

Edited by Roburt

Fantasy and Serpentine Fire amongst a whole raft of other stuff...

 

And yes Bingley hall show was one of the best experences (straight) I ever had.. even more so cos I won the tickets from Piccadilly Radio :thumbsup:

As mentioned before, "Reasons" got to be my fave, I have the 12 inch of "Africano" and love it, 2 totally different records gives you some concept of their versatility

 

Kev

Rotherham memories:

 

 

....also there's an instrumental called 'Departure' which when I happened on it brought me to tears (and I don't say that often).

 

I've just looked on YT and found it, it wasn't there last time I looked - and reading why it was written I can see why the love went into it:

 

  On 05/07/2013 at 08:41, Barry said:

Rotherham memories:

 

 

....also there's an instrumental called 'Departure' which when I happened on it brought me to tears (and I don't say that often).

 

I've just looked on YT and found it, it wasn't there last time I looked - and reading why it was written I can see why the love went into it:

 

  I believe that "Departure" was a tribute to Charles Stepney 

  On 05/07/2013 at 08:59, Citizen P said:

  I believe that "Departure" was a tribute to Charles Stepney 

 

Yeah - it says that on the YT clip.

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  On 05/07/2013 at 02:32, boba said:

head to the sky is my favorite track by them

 have to say thats brilliant, listened to it last night, one of those tracks that really comes alive on vinyl through a nice warm old system, analouge rules.

  On 04/07/2013 at 23:24, Paul Mooney said:

A talented band and That's The Way Of The World was a great LP which I haven't heard for years. 'All About Love' was a nice ballad on that album.

 

But for me it all started to go downhill after producer Charles Stepney died and Maurice White was left to his own devices.

 

In fact it was during that period that I became a manic depressive and my therapist said it might have been caused by too much exposure to 'Boogie Wonderland'.

 

Oh no I've got that song in my head again now.

 

:dash2:

 

 

Terrorise everyone that comes round our house with this LP, not a bad track on it.................. Still got a soft spot for 'Biyo' off the following LP, sunny days spent inside at Birmingham Lacarno...........

Edited by Dave Thorley

  • Author
  On 05/07/2013 at 08:21, kjw said:

'Biyo' - what a great instrumental

 

Remember it being played at Cleethorpes in the 70's

I think thats the Key listening to EWF is like listening to about 10 other bands at the same time, i9f that makes any sense, LOL. 

  • Author

Really glad I posted this thread, grt to here some of the anecdotes and picks from you guys, hope some younger/ unenlightened soulsourcers pick it up and get turned onto what is as someone else put it the original soul supergroup. 

I saw them at Wembley Arena in about 1988. Great show.

 

I’m surprised we haven’t had one comment of disco crap yet. A lot of people dismiss them based on what they know of their hits. Even I’m sick of Boogie Wonderland. But there’s so much great material out there. Expansion released an excellent CD last year with stuff they produced for other artists.

Going even further back into the mists of time, check out some of their stuff when they were The Salty Peppers, early members were Sherry Scott, Yackov Ben, Don Whitehead and Wade Flemons and later his brother Verdine White. They recorded two 45's for Capitol, then with their move to the West Coast and the contract with Warner Brothers, they changed their name to EWF

Edited by Dave Thorley

  • Author
  On 05/07/2013 at 10:30, Dave Thorley said:

Played this off a 12" a few years ago at the Bamberg Weekender as my final track in the modern room, place went boom

 

 

 

how many super obscure groups 70's and 80's  took there cue from this act. So many rare modern tracks are just a pale imitation of EWF's blueprint sound.

some collectors stuff amongst their back catalogue as well, in particular the warner brothers lps. they really delighted in experimenting with musical styles, lurching from ballads, to shufflers, disco, jazz funk and those wonderfully weird 30-60 second instrumental interludes. they were a tour de force when pitted against that other big "battle of the bands" group, WAR...think it was either B & S or BLACK ECHOES that touted that front page around 77/78. they were in good company then though with the likes of CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR,BRASS CONSTRUCTION etc...big bands rule ok?

  On 05/07/2013 at 11:41, geeselad said:

how many super obscure groups 70's and 80's  took there cue from this act. So many rare modern tracks are just a pale imitation of EWF's blueprint sound.

Close your eyes and listen to The Billion Dollar Band LP , carbon copy of the EWF sound

 

Kev

Edited by kev cane

  • Author
  On 05/07/2013 at 11:40, Dave Thorley said:

Going even further back into the mists of time, check out some of their stuff when they were The Salty Peppers, early members were Sherry Scott, Yackov Ben, Don Whitehead and Wade Flemons and later his brother Verdine White. They recorded two 45's for Capitol, then with their move to the West Coast and the contract with Warner Brothers, they changed their name to EWF

hoped someone would put soemthing on about there early incarnations, I have an early single on WB? but its not grt to my memory and I've heard the amazing 'sweetback' soundtrack but thats as far as I've gone into their early history. 

  • Author
  On 05/07/2013 at 11:43, Dave Thorley said:

Jewel being one, but in their case, not so pale...............

 

https://youtu.be/nVqVS5_eZXY

fair Do's there some grt soundalikes but even this could have done with a little more major label cash spending on it, productions good but the mastering aint what you'd get from the big boys.  

  On 05/07/2013 at 11:43, geeselad said:

hoped someone would put soemthing on about there early incarnations, I have an early single on WB? but its not grt to my memory and I've heard the amazing 'sweetback' soundtrack but thats as far as I've gone into their early history. 

 

There are even earlier connection, but would need Bob A (Boba) to give us the skinny on that.............

This is another group that took some cues from EWF, this is a track by them I really like. Kinsman Dazz were from just down the road in Cleveland, they even did one LP sleeve that could have been for EWF

 

Edited by Dave Thorley

 

  On 05/07/2013 at 07:49, Tezza said:

Major disappointment in that I never got to see them perform live. Heard nothing but spectacular about their live shows. So many good tracks to choose from. Still love Happy Feeling and Septempber.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEjEvClUy_Q

There you go

Saw them at Birmingham Odeon with Rose Royce asm support - what a gig!

 

Always loved this (sorry if it's been posted, but, if you dont include song titles with the videos I can't tell what it is while I'm at work!)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R_lhP3J1eQ

Edited by MrC

I worked with a guy who used to work at Earls Court /Olympia and other venues moving the sound gear about. He was into Rock but said best Soul band was Earth Wind and fire,he said when the show started,they came down in a spaceship which was totally differant/Original to any other artist at the time. He said visually best band he ever seen and that`s saying something from him.

 

They were one of the 1st soul bands i got into when i was into Soul/Disco in 78/79,sadly sold all there lp`s in mid 80`s for a night out i think lol.

Good news i took a guy home one night in the cab and he was a big soul fan,sadly he never had the money for the fair so paid me in Earth,Wind,and fire lps so wasn`t all bad.

:wicked:  :lol: .

 

This is proper with strings and things,listen to whole track from last days and time lp:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGSJ8nPA2kk

Edited by Hammersoul

  On 05/07/2013 at 13:10, Hammersoul said:

I worked with a guy who used to work at Earls Court /Olympia and other venues moving the sound gear about. He was into Rock but said best Soul band was Earth Wind and fire,he said when the show started,they came down in a spaceship which was totally differant/Original to any other artist at the time. He said visually best band he ever seen and that`s saying something from him.

 

They were one of the 1st soul bands i got into when i was into Soul/Disco in 78/79,sadly sold all there lp`s in mid 80`s for a night out i think lol.

Good news i took a guy home one night in the cab and he was a big soul fan,sadly he never had the money for the fair so paid me in Earth,Wind,and fire lps so wasn`t all bad.

:wicked:  :lol: .

 

This is proper with strings and things,listen to whole track from last days and time lp:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGSJ8nPA2kk

Love that Wayne, new to me, big fan of that 70's big group sound, that particular track reminded me very much of The New Birth, other similar groups include Sound Experience, 9th Creation and Billion Dollar Band

 

Kev

Saw them in Tampa with Chicago a few years ago at an outside arena.

 

Great live act.

 

Given the respective group members of each band at that gig, when they played together there must have been 30 of em stage!!

  On 05/07/2013 at 13:26, kev cane said:

Love that Wayne, new to me, big fan of that 70's big group sound, that particular track reminded me very much of The New Birth, other similar groups include Sound Experience, 9th Creation and Billion Dollar Band

 

Kev

There`s other good tracks on that lp Kev. :thumbsup:   All them other groups you mention Kev are really good especially 9th Creation.

  On 05/07/2013 at 11:43, geeselad said:

hoped someone would put soemthing on about there early incarnations, I have an early single on WB? but its not grt to my memory and I've heard the amazing 'sweetback' soundtrack but thats as far as I've gone into their early history. 

Yes, I got into the Sweet Sweetback soundtrack before I even realised it was EW&F who were providing all the music.

"I Think About Loving You" with Sherry Scott on vocal duty from their 2nd LP "The Need Of Love" is one of my many faves from this great group. Don"t think anyones mentioned that  the great  Ronnie Laws was a one time (early ) member

 

Cheers Paul

  On 05/07/2013 at 06:25, AGENTSMITH said:

awesome group, the live visual thing was spectacular to say the least....so much so, that when they arrived in the u.k. on their world tour 79, i went to see them at bingley hall stafford...thursday evening it was, you didnt have to have tickets in those days...totally gobsmacked by their presence...levitation, exploding pyramids...magical as was the music...i couldn't believe it.......so i went back on the friday night to experience it all over again! :rofl: first track i ever remember being played out was "happy feeling"...they sure gave that...

i was there as well !

  On 05/07/2013 at 11:47, Dave Thorley said:

There are even earlier connection, but would need Bob A (Boba) to give us the skinny on that.............

 

the salty peppers were pretty much the first official incarnation of the group but they evolved out of the pharoahs.

 

i posted here that i met sherry scott like a couple of months ago, super super nice lady, she was actually going up to the dance show after me to promote some new house single

  On 06/07/2013 at 04:40, boba said:

the salty peppers were pretty much the first official incarnation of the group but they evolved out of the pharoahs.

 

i posted here that i met sherry scott like a couple of months ago, super super nice lady, she was actually going up to the dance show after me to promote some new house single

Bob, so did you try to arrange a radio interview to quiz her on her long music career ?? 

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